Should Marijuana Be Legalized in the United States? Essay

There has always been a problem with the usage of marijuana and if it should be legalization. People for years have tried to get around the law and sell this drug for money and other things of that kind. Over the last few years the issues of legalization has come up more often. California and New Jersey have both legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. They are the first of the States to take the stand and legalize marijuana. Other people feel that there is no need to marijuana to be legalized it will just cause more problems. People around the world have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years while also using the hemp plant for everything from fabric and rope to ethanol fuel. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, a man with a bit of power and enough determination decided pot was wicked, evil and narcotic. Before that marijuana or cannabis was introduced to the United States in the year 1492, when Christopher Columbus brought it from Spain. People were so impressed by this new found resource that it was used in everything from clothing to medication to heal the sick. In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed in the U.S. and the Food and Drug Administration was formed. This was the first time drugs had any government oversight.In 1914 in El Paso, some white men were allegedly attacked by a Mexican man who had "gone crazy" on supposedly "killer weed." Following the incident, the El Paso City Council passed an ordinance banning possession of marijuana. The law was more about controlling the local Mexican populace than controlling marijuana, as the predominantly white constituency did not like the Mexicans or their customs.This event made the U.S. take notice about the affect of marijuana on people. The first state marijuana prohibition law was passed in California in 1913. The law received no public notice in the press. It was passed as an obscure technical amendment by the State Board of Pharmacy, which was then leading one of the nation's earliest and most aggressive anti-narcotics campaigns.The next state to follow is Utah. Marijuana was outlawed in 30 states by 1930. Marijuana was outlawed at the national level in the US by the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Between 1937 and 1947, the government spent $220 million on the war against drugs. Between 1948 and 1963, the cost of this "war" on marijuana alone escalated to $1.5 billion. From 1964 to 1969 the government spent $9 billion on the war against marijuana, a price tag that continues to rise. The War on Drugs utilizes several techniques to achieve its goal of eliminating recreational drug use: specialized law enforcement agencies, officers and techniques information campaigns to educate the public on the dangers of recreational drug use critics often cite these campaigns as a primary reason to end the War on Drugs; they claim the campaigns are frequently misleading or outright lying streamlined enforcement and evidence-gathering procedures. People are starting to open up more about the legalization of marijuana they feel that it could be an ok thing if the drug is monitored and regulated by the government. Some states have already legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. There many benefits to the legalization of marijuana, the drug generally isn’t more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation, there are medical benefits such as the those for cancer patents,street justice related to drug disputes would be reduced. It could be a source of additional tax revenues. Legalization of marijuana would even reduce national health-care costs, by easing demand for costly pharmaceuticals. A doctor reported that his cannabis patients had either stopped or cut back their use of analgesics of all kinds including Tylenol, aspirin, and opioids, also psychotherapeutic agents including anti-anxiety medications, anti-depressants, anti-panic, obsessive-compulsive, anti-psychotic, and bipolar

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